Stalemate
by Zorua Illusion
Summary: Stoick's at a stalemate. With his son's dragon, of all things. It's pretty much a day in the life of a chief with an unconscious son who's managed to flip the world upside down in less than two days.


Stoick was at a stalemate.

With a _dragon_, of all things.

Now, mind you, this dragon was his son's and every bit as stubborn as Hiccup is. The overgrown lizard hasn't budged an inch; Hel, the beast was on the first boat back, even showing Stoick how to get back to Berk even faster. Hiccup, with his injury, had been sent to the village via dragon back to be healed by Gothi. The Hofferson girl had gone with him, seeing as how they were using the Nadder, who had the most stable riding position along with the fastest flight available, as the Night Fury couldn't fly without a tail or without Hiccup, and neither was available.

The dragon had practically flown off the ship and into the village. Who knew he could run so fast? Stoick stayed behind, making sure that everyone was accounted for.

Eventually, he was able to get back into his own house. He noticed that someone (probably Gobber) had moved Hiccup's bed from up the stairs into the living area. The Hofferson girl stood nearby, helping Gothi by boiling rags to use as bandages.

Stoick absentmindedly grabbed the box he kept for just such a purpose. (With a son as clumsy as Hiccup, you keep bandages around just in case. He was only now realizing that that was all he did- keep them. He never helped Hiccup unless the poor boy had gone unconscious…) Wordlessly, he handed it to her. Her eyes danced in thankfulness, but it was overshadowed quickly by worry, and that was covered even faster by clinical indifference.

He heard Gobber clink down the stairs, but strangely enough, his best friend didn't say a word. Stoick turned to see what was wrong.

In his massive hands, Gobber held sheets upon sheets of paper.

"He's done more than we give him credit for," Gobber says upon noticing the stare. He hands over the sketches.

All are indescribable. Some are just pictures: pictures of weapons, helmets, the villagers. Stoick sees one of himself and forces his eyes away, seeing the disappointed scowl. He focused on Hiccup's inventions next. He saw improvements to the village that were actually ingenious and helpful, like an irrigation system for the farmers. He also had several crazy weapons, but these were mostly impractical. He wondered if Hiccup had any other ideas that he had tossed after befriending the Night Fury. (Oh gods, his _son befriended a Night Fury.)_ More still depicted that same Night Fury in various positions, ranging from anger pouring of the page to cute as a kitten. The strangest one wasn't a drawing at all- it was written words. Sort of. They were sentences running over another, cut off and incomplete, looking hectic but somehow organized.

A blank spot was in the middle. Stoick didn't understand. He didn't get time to think about it. There was a scratching at the door. Stoick got up to open it, and when he did, he was met with the stare of two wide, green eyes.

"Not yet," he said. The dragon peered inside, ignoring Stoick as he looked for his rider, backing off as he saw the Hofferson girl nearby him, snorting in approval before moving to the side of the porch, where he could easily find a window to look in.

Stoick sighed. The beast had kept his son safe, so he didn't do anything to deter the mass of black scales from staying in that spot. He went back inside to help as much as he could.

He had fifteen years to make up for, after all.

Eventually, he left his house to go grab something to eat and probably a mug of mead. It had been a long day. Hel, it'd been a long week.

Sympathetic gazes were thrown at the chief, some of the braver men and women wishing Hiccup well.

He returned the kind words, talking about peace and how they'd try to get used to dragons and _change_ and his son and the all important question "Will he survive?"

And Stoick didn't know. So he shrugged and walked on.

The question was answered later on.

"He'll pull through, so long as tha' leg o' his don't get infected. He migh' sleep for awhile as well; he was under a lot of pressure an' probably wasn't sleepin' much, if at all," Gobber translated as Gothi drew in the dirt. The blacksmith pulled out some papers again, clasping Stoick on the shoulder before heading down to the forge, staring and muttering at the sheets of parchment.

Gothi looked at Hiccup, not so much with a medical eye but with an apologetic one. Not even she had spared the boy of a hard time in his first fifteen years. Then she left, leaving Stoick to enter the house that held his comatose son.

Alone.

He pushed open the door, more subdued than usual. He half expected to sit on one of the chairs all night, sleeping only when his body demanded it by closing his eyes and shutting down until it decided he could wake up.

What he didn't expect was to see the shadow beast lying down next to his son's bed. He figured his motions had disturbed the beast's rest, but he wasn't entirely sure.

All he knew is that he saw all-too-familiar pinprick pupils and a mouthful of teeth. It wasn't threatening so much as warning.

"I know he's injured. Gobber's working on a leg for him as we speak." He wasn't really sure _why_ he was talking to the beast, placating it (well, actually, he had an idea on that last one), but he figured if the dragon could understand the word "sorry" it could understand more.

He was right. The beast settled down again, and though it appeared to be asleep, Stoick was willing to bet the island's entire haul of fish that the dragon would pounce and attack anyone who so much as looked threatening to its rider.

He changed the cloth his son's forehead every so often and had a pot of boiled bandages just in case.

He fell asleep in one of the more fleshed-out chairs that he recognized from one of Hiccup's drawings. It was meant to be relaxing, a cozy spot to read or knit or fall asleep if it came down to it.

He didn't notice Gobber come into the house early in the morning. He didn't know that the blacksmith asked for the dragon to follow him and help him in the forge, showing the dragon Hiccup's drawings of his tail. He didn't know that the beast decided to follow, licking his rider's face.

What he did know is that when he woke up, there was a throw blanket haphazardly thrown over him and the dragon was missing from the house. And that there was saliva he had to wash off his son's face.

He didn't complain. Fifteen years was a long time; he could only hope his son would find it in himself to forgive the people who had made his life Hel.

We'll get back to the stalemate in a minute. I'm pretty sure all of you are wondering _why,_ exactly, had Gobber asked for Toothless's help in the forge?

Well, while Gobber may have taught Hiccup everything the young lad knew about blacksmithing, the boy hadn't been able to come in and say "Oh hey Gobber I have this new invention for a dragon that lost its tail. Oh, did I mention it was for the Night Fury I befriended and have in the woods somewhere?"

Yeah, between being attacked by a Monstrous Nightmare, being disowned (he was seriously going to have a talk with Stoick about that one, finally understanding that Hiccup wasn't exaggerating on the fact that no, his dad really didn't listen to him, and Gobber can't help but feel bad because he realized he hadn't done much better) and flying on the suicide mission to take down the volcano dragon. And then the whole "losing the bottom half of his left leg" deal and being comatose… well, the only other expert was sitting next to him, curious but wary eyes looking at the blacksmith.

"Alrigh', I got some diagrams and measurements 'ere but I wan' to make sure tha' my tweaks will work as well. I also wan' ta make sure tha' I didn't make your tail too big; the lad's always been better a' details than I was, bu' if you tell him I said that, I'll deny it pas' my last breath," Gobber explained, showing Toothless the work area and the nearly completed tail. It looked far steadier than the one His hatchling had made; probably because He had to make his out of spare parts and had to come with it on his own, while Gobber was able to use His hatchling's notes, his own expertise, and better quality materials.

Toothless swung his tail around, knocking a few weapons off the walls but not much else, laying his fin down next to the canvas/metal prosthetic. Perfect match. Toothless saw that the saddle and harness were fixed as well, minor improvements made, such as small rises on the front of the saddle, obviously for His hatchling to hold on to. Toothless saw the pedal system and saw that it looked a tiny bit different from Hatchling's. The dragon nodded at the visual inspection.

Gobber grinned. "Okay, now I'm gonna place it on ya. It might take a bi' more time than usual, after all, he's still go' both hands! Bu' I won't hurt ya; not on purpose, a' least."

And so Gobber got to work, Toothless occasionally giving a low growl when Gobber hooked something up too differently. The blacksmith would then correct it.

"There," he said after he was done, "good as new. It's no' done yet, bu' this is the most importan' part." The blacksmith played with the pedal, making sure it worked. Gobber was elated when the tail flapped in and out.

Toothless shifted. The pedal positions were different that what His hatchling had used. He looked at the blacksmith and whimpered.

"Eh? What's wrong? It's workin'!"

Toothless growled again, wishing His hatchling was there to translate for Gobber.

"Alrigh', you overgrown lizard, I'm gonna take this off. I don't know why you're so fussy. Guess we'll have ta wait for him ta wake up, yeah?"

Toothless tilted his head, affirming what the man had said, although reluctantly. He bumped his head against his hand, thanking him for helping His hatchling and himself. Gobber's face softened marginally.

"Go on, ya know you're achin' to get back ta him." Gobber made a playful shooing motion with his hand. Toothless left the forge and headed to the house he knew his rider resided in. Something deep inside him shifted, prompting him to look around. He saw Vikings, dragons, that girl His hatchling liked and the other teens he had come with making peace between the two. He noticed several Terrible Terrors flying around.

One came and landed right in front of him. Something rested in its teeth. Toothless cooed at it, wondering what it was carrying. The smaller dragon dropped it and took off again. Toothless had to stomp on the familiar sheet of parchment to prevent it from flying away.

He saw that it was His hatchling's cheat sheet from so long ago. While of no use to the boy now, his mentor could use it to fix the pedal! Excited, Toothless grabbed the sheet, careful to make sure he didn't salivate on the ink, and ran back the way he came, scratching on the door that he had exited only minutes ago.

"Wha', he awake already?" Gobber inquired. Toothless shook his head, the sound of flapping paper catching the blacksmith's attention.

"What's tha', eh?" Gobber grabbed the sheet out of Toothless's mouth, understanding coming over him as he gazed at it. "So tha's why ya were so fussy! The pedal didn' match!"

Toothless yipped in jubilation. Finally! He understood! Though it was odd that the Terrible Terror had done what it did, Toothless wasn't about to look a gift fish in the gills.

Gobber said he could make the adjustments on his own without Toothless, so he chased the dragon out.

"An' not one word o' this ta the lad!" Gobber called out after Toothless.

The Night Fury grinned. All he needed was for His hatchling to wake up.

He tried to enter the house again, only to run into Stoick, who was leaving for some food and broth for Hiccup.

This is where the stalemate starts.

Toothless wants in; Stoick doesn't really want to let him.

"Why can't you just stay on the porch?"

The dragon took after Hiccup more than he thought; Stoick recognized a similar expression to that which would be on Hiccup's face if he gave a sarcastic response.

Stoick grumbled but let him in. The chief wasn't completely sure as to _why_ he was so hesitant to let the dragon in, other than the obvious reasons. The damned beast had saved his son, for crying out loud! The least he could do was let it keep guard.

It was on the way back that the chief realized why.

He was _jealous._ The burning in his throat was foreign, unfamiliar, and very small, but then he realized _why _he was jealous.

That dragon had been more of a father to Hiccup than he was. It was the beast who taught Hiccup to make his own decisions, who taught him confidence and how to stand on his own two feet (so to speak). It was the shadow creature that had taught him the definition of caring and trust and (dare he admit it?) love.

And Stoick had no one to blame but himself.

He entered his house with his head bowed, taking off his helmet and giving the lad his soup.

The dragon watched in interest, sniffing the boy after Stoick was done feeding him. The green eyes turned to him then, and a nod to thank the chief.

Stoick shook his head and placed his hand on the dragon's shoulder like he had the day before (was it really only yesterday that all this occured?).

"Thank you…" Stoick, mountain of a man that he is, couldn't force the words out. Luckily, the dragon understood.

He gestured at the bowl with his wing and nudged Hiccup with his nose, then turned back to Stoick.

_You're here now,_ is what he was trying to explain. A half-hearted snarl was a warning: _Don't screw up again_, half-hearted not because Toothless wasn't serious about it, but because he just thought that Stoick didn't need it.

He was right.

And five days later, Hiccup woke up.

**A/N: I'm pretty sure this is the longest one shot I've done to date at almost 2,470 words. I seriously love DreamWorks, in case you haven't gathered through the multitude of stories involving their movies. My friend loves How to Train Your Dragon and the other day I took him to see the second one because holy cow that's an awesome movie and if you haven't seen it yet you should and if you have seen it go watch it again. We then started coming up with different scenarios for the third one, scheduled for 2016 (fingers crossed), and, well, it eventually just dissolved into prompts, which led to this. The prompts included Toothless calling Hiccup his hatchling, Gobber making Toothless's tail but unknowingly altering the pedal positions, Stoick and Toothless friendship, and Hiccup and Toothless friendship. More topics were covered, but these were the ones I wrote about. I love writing characters like Toothless and the TARDIS, points of view you don't really get to see except on FanFiction, so… yeah. Hope you enjoyed!**


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